7th Philippine Cosplay Convention

Yet another year at the Philippine Cosplay Convention.


It's inevitable that several cosplayers would attract small crowds with their elaborate costumes. Personally, I'm more drawn towards those who carry themselves with style even if their outfits are relatively modest by cosplay standards.

My favorites for this year:

The Classy...

Kevin Bautista as Tony Stark (day 2).

Ever since the first Iron Man movie was shown in theaters, the armored Avenger and War Machine have become common sights at conventions. It was refreshing to see somebody cosplaying as the genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist in a different suit.

Beyond the physical similarities and the rich guy's formal attire, I was impressed by the little details such as the glass in his hand and, of course, the faintly visible arc reactor. Pile a ton of swagger on top of that, and, even without the armor, this guy couldn't be mistaken for anybody but Tony Stark.

... and the Sassy.

Krishna Mallari as Izayoi Sakuya from Touhou (day 1).

Her costume isn't particularly fancy compared to others, but what impressed me was the way she moved.

Cosplayers (and many models in general) tend to give very static poses in front of the camera. This lady, however, transitioned smoothly from pose to pose, and this seemed quite appropriate for somebody cosplaying as the elegant chief maid of Scarlet Devil Mansion.

I've shot at several cosplay events in the past, but she's is probably the most photogenic cosplayer I've encountered so far.

DAY 1:

DAY 2:

<photography babble>

• Yes, the flash still occasionally misfires.
  Yes, I'm still cropping off people's toes by accident.
  
  
• It's not advisable to use camera straps when a very exposed and vulnerable wide-angle lens is attached.
  
  
  
  
• Shifting to low-resolution settings for non-critical shots could save you some space on the SD/CF card. However, it's not worth the risk of forgetting to revert those settings afterward.
  
  
  
  After this photo of cheap merchandise, I shot about 6 cosplayers using JPEG at medium (8MP) resolution. That's about 20 shots with no room for cropping or recovering highlights/shadow details due to lack of RAW files.
  
  

</photography babble>